No matter how many years went by, Elaine was still the most beautiful woman in the room. How that was possible, I’d never know. I stood and smiled at my exquisite wife. “Elaine, you look stunning,” I said and grazed her arm as I kissed her cheek. Being this close to her and smelling her perfume awoke a part of me that had long been forgotten.

“Thank you, that’s very kind,” she said, but her eyes were cast down.

With my index finger, I lifted her chin. “Not kind. The truth,” I said and stared into those sparkly blue eyes. She gave me an insincere half-smile and moved to sit down. “Here.” I pulled the chair out for her.

The frown on her face made me chuckle. “That’s not quite necessary in here,” she said and bobbed her head.

“Of course, it is. You don’t remember the first time we came here?” I quizzed her, knowing she’d never forget. “Our first date. I didn’t have a dime to my name, and this was all I could afford.”

She smirked. “That’s a lie. You couldn’t afford it. I had to pay for half.”

“Dutch was a thing back then. Not exactly the way to impress the girl you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, though,” I said and raked my hand through my hair.

“I doubt that. We’d just met,” she scolded and played with the cheap, rolled-up paper napkin wrapped around the silverware.

“I knew,” I told her and reached for her hand. She allowed it for a second before pulling it away. “I did.” Her untrusting eyes glanced at me briefly before examining the tablecloth. “I miss you.”

“How’s work?” she asked half-heartedly, not really wanting to hear the answer. Asking about the office was her default question to get me talking, since we really didn’t have much else in common anymore.

“Fantastic,” I answered, grinning from ear-to-ear. She eyed me suspiciously.

“Why are you so happy? Did the kids agree to become partners?”

“Nope. They quit. So did I.”

“What did you say?” she said, not trusting her ears.

“I quit and found another job that I love. Well, I mean, I loved it years ago, so I wasn’t walking into it blind. Been there for a few weeks now, and it’s just like I remembered.”

“Where are you?” She set the silverware down.

“Bill’s.”

“Bill’s? Bill, Bill? Our Bill?” she said and placed her hands flat on the table.

“Yeah, honey. Our Bill.” I chuckled at the surprise on her face.

“You sold out and moved to Bill’s?”

“No, I sold out thirty years ago. Now I’m back with Bill.”

“Anything to drink here, folks?” the waitress asked, her arms full of colorful tattoos under her heavily ruffled white blouse.

“White wine, please,” Elaine answered and gave her head a shake.

“Water for me,” I told her. Our server walked away, and Elaine continued to stare at me with a frown on her face.

“Water? You’ve had whiskey every night for decades.”

“My therapist said I needed to stop doing anything that deadens my senses. I’m supposed to embrace,” I spread my arms out wide, “my feelings instead of drowning them,” I said and dropped my hands back into my lap.

“Feel your feelings?” she muttered with an even bigger frown.

“At first, I thought she was a quack, but I committed to listen to her for ten sessions. By then, she’d helped me sort through so much, I kept going.”

“You’re in therapy? You?” She nodded in my direction.

I sat back and laughed. “Yes. Me. It’s helped. She suggested you come, too, for couple’s therapy as well as one-on-one. Wasn’t sure if you were ready for that yet or not.”

“You want me to go to therapy with you?”

“If you want. No pressure, though. I’m the one who fucked everything up, so logic would say I’m the one who needs it the most. But Cynthia suggested you come, too. She’s been right about everything else.”

“When you left, I was a basket case. I need you back in my life. I miss you terribly. I want another chance to prove to you I’ve changed,” I said, and I meant it with all my soul.

“I filed,” she said bluntly, eyes back to blank.

“Filed what?”

“For divorce. What do you think?”

My lungs stopped working, and my already shattered heart cracked one more time.

Insistent on this working, I snatched her hand back and pleaded my case. The most important trial of my life. “You said for better or for worse, Lainey. You promised, all those years ago. I gave you the worse. Now I’m going to spend the rest of my life giving you the better.”

Her eyes teared up. “How can I trust you? Did you think I’d just take you back after one date and everything would be perfect?”

“I’ll court you. Like you should have been courted, but things happened and…”

“Blake happened.”

“Blake was because of me. I should have held off, but I was so scared of losing you. I thought if you were—”

“John.” She gave me the sternest look. “I didn’t exactly say no. Did you think I wasn’t aware of the consequences?”

“You were so young, Lainey. And I was a son-of-a-bitch from the wrong side of the tracks who had no business being with someone as good and as perfect as you. A better man would have stepped aside.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I knew what I was getting into, and I wanted you. You were bursting with potential and goodwill.”

“We were a great team back then, weren’t we? Before I ruined it all?”

The saddest of smiles crossed her face. “The best.”

“Bill’s office is in bad shape. We need to hire a new office manager. You know anyone?” I smirked and squeezed her hand. Say yes, honey. Please, say yes.

“What’s it pay?” she said, and I threw my head back and bellowed out a laugh.

“Whatever you’re asking, plus ten percent.”

“I have responsibilities. Three grandkids and one on the way,” she said, her breath catching on the last four words.

“What? Who?” I asked, my heart pounding out of my chest.

“Blake and Melanie.”

My hand went to my mouth, and I couldn’t stop the tears. “Blake? Finally?”

She stood up and rushed to me, her arms enveloping me into her torso. “Isn’t it great? They’ve tried for so many years. Everything is going well, so they spilled the beans,” she said, smiling through her own happy tears. Her thumbs wiped my eyes dry, and instinctively my hands pulled her head toward my awaiting lips. God, I needed to kiss her.

“Is this the happy couple?” a nasally voice interrupted our tender moment. We looked over at five unhappy pirates holding a cake. Bad timing wasn’t even their biggest problem. Why were they bringing cake before the meal? They started in on a horrible rendition of “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and we both looked at each other and unsuccessfully stifled our laughter.

“Happy anniversary, John,” she said, giggling.

“Best one yet,” I told her.

Then, just like thirty-something years earlier, I kissed her underneath the tacky fishing net in our corner. And just like thirty-something years earlier, she kissed me back.